Bottle-capping machine



' May2-2,v 923. Y Re. 15,612

- E. NORDSTROM BOTTLE CAPPING MACHINE Original Filed April 6, 1916 3 SheetS-Sheet 1 www www BOTTLE CAPPI NG MACHINE original Filed April e, 1916y J3 sheetssheei 2 mum* ' Ira/mien May 22, 1923. Re. 15,612

E.` NORDSTRQM BOTTLE 'CAPPING MACHINE Original Filed April 6, 1916l 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Renued May 22,1923.

rUNITI-:1) STA-Tas PATENT o'EFica.

vMENTS, 'ro AMEBIQAN DAN DELAWARE.

' l1111.015' Nonnsrnx, or EAs'r ORANGE, NEW JERSEY, AssIeNon, BY nEsNE ASSIGN- Bor'rLE SEAL coRPonArroN, A conrom'rroN or BOTTLE-'CAPPING MACHINE.

` i original 1am-1,303,580, dated ay 13, Y1919, serial m. '89,363, mea April e, 191s. ,Application mreissue led Hay 13, 1 .92L lSerial. No. 469,872.

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, ELor NORDSTROM, a

I citizen of the United States, residing at-East Orange, in thecounty of Essex and State of. New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bottle-Capping Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to bottle capping machines and has for its primary object to provide an improved construction, combination and arrangement of parts whereby a` machine of this character, is adapted to be operated more rapidlyv and. in a more ecoto provide means for elevating the bottlwel and thus causing its neck to'be presented upwardly thru the table or carrier, a situation being thus created-which is undesirable with regard to its ei'ect on the speed of operation and the relation between cooperating elements of the machine. I have found certain inherent advantages in constructing a bottle capping machine according to the following specification, such-advantages being derivedV by inserting from below into the vca carrier, a cap which is ready to be crlmped after ithas been ejected downwardlyonto a bottle 'and crimpedin place on-said bottle by crimping mechanism which moves downwardly past the table during the time that the table is above the bottle. machine constructed on vthis principle is more especially applicable to bottle caps which have extended ears or lugs,` Iit being obviously more desirable to eject such a cap downwardly-out of the table than to force it upwardly thru said table. vWith respect to the spee'd of the operation ofsuch a machine it has `been found to be of distinct advantage tohave the cap ejecting and cap crimping devices normally above the 'cap carrying table and operating past said table for performing their necessary operations below 'of nuts 2, which may be operate said table, the reason for this being that the bottles may be' smoothly and quickly slid into position, because they have a clear and unobstructed path between their supporting table below and the cap bearing'plate above; the distance between said table and holder being greater than the Vheight ofthe bottle.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provideiinproved means for partially crimping 'a cap upon a bottle to prevent its accidental displacement while the bottle is being conveyed into position to have the cap securely crimped in position.

Other and further objects will appear in the specification and be-poi-nted out in the appended claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings which exemplify my invention in Vits preferred embodiment and in which drawings Figure l is a front elevation of a machine constructed in accordance with thev principles of my invention, parts being broken Figure 2 is a front elevation on an enlarged scale of the combined cap,.applying and preliminary 'crimping mechanism, adjacent parts of the machine being shown in section;

Figure 3 is'a similar view showing the parts in changed positions;

Figure 4 is a side elevation of the same showing contiguous parts of the machine, parts being broken away and parts shown in section;

Figure 5A is a top plan view on an en- .larged scale of the conveyer mechanism,

parts being broken away; I

Figure 6 is a side elevationvof the same, parts being broken away and parts shown in section;

Figure 7' is an axial section on an enlarged scale of one of the cap crimping units, parts being shown in elevation.

In the embodiment of my invention shown on the drawings, a frame 1 is provided with suitable means for mounting a lurality d) in any suitable manner to raise and lower the threaded bolts 3, whichcarry a suitable' 4 one b one into a line of feed over the plate or ta le 4 in such a way as to pass successively under the capping and preliminary crimping mechanism a's well as the Afinal crimping mechanism, such mechanisms being 'hereinafter fully described. As pointed out in my previous Patent 1,212,665 J anuary 16th 1917, means for feeding thewessels are provided by reciprocatory pairs of bottle engaging gripper bars 6 and 7, the former being adapted-to move the filled bottles one by one from the star wheels 5' into position below the capping and preliminary crimping mechanism and -thence to a point within the reach of the reciprocatory members 7, which move said botlthe shaft 111.

tles two by two into osition beneath the -double Acrimping hea s to be hereinafter referred to.

As shown in Figs. 5 and 6, shaft 118 has keyed thereto a sprocket wheel 119, over .which runs a chain 120 for rotating a smaller sprocket 121 keyed to a shaft 122 (see Fig. 6). The shaft 122 carries'a gear 123 which meshes with a gear 124 mounted on a spindle 12,5 which carries a bevel gear 126, said bevel -1,26 being in mesh carried by 1 with a ar 127 ooperating with the rotary conveyer is` a curved .guide 128,

wlth a tangential portion extending along similar the table 4. As shown in Fig. 5, said rotary conveyerplaces the vessels successively in- 'to position to be engaged-by a reciprocator conveyer. Keyed to the shaft 125 1s a cran arm 129 towhich one end of a connecting rod 130 is pivoted. The other end of said connectin a pair o arms 132 which are geared together and journaled on slides 45. Arranged above and oscillatable with the arms 132 respectively, the upper arms 134. are gearedv to similar arms 135 which are also journaledfon the slides 133. Arms 134 and 135 carry brackets 136 and 137; upon the outerends of which the opposite ends of a gripper bar 6 are pivotally mounted. Said gripper bar carries suitable grippers 139. A crankjarm 141 carried by the shaft122 v1s connected to one end of a connecting rod 142,'fthe other end ofsaid connecting rod being plvpted on a pin 143 carried by one of a pair of interengaging lever arms mounted on pintles which are journaledon oppositely arranged slides 45.- Said slides reciprocate in the dove-tailed grooves formed in the aprons to feed table4, the

connected to the arms 46 on either side o f' above mentioned slides 45 being mounted in the same rooves. The connecting rod 142 is thus a lapted to `simultaneouslyioscillate pivotally mounted arms 46 which are geared at 47 for this purpose. Pivotally the feed table is a gripper bar 7 which is also provided with gripper-s 139..

rod is pivoted at 131 to oneof- A shaft 8 which carries a ily-wheel 9, is journaled in bearings 10, 11 Vand 12 vand receives its ower in a manner shown and described 1n my Patent No. 1,212,665 referred to above. Power from the shaft 8 is Idelivered to the preliminary crimping and clamping mechanism shown in Figs.- 2, 3 and 4 by suitable gear and shafting connections shown fully` in the abovementioned patent, such power being thus transmitted to a connecting rod 13 (seeFig. 4) pivotally connected at 14 to the bellA crank lever 15, which iis journaled on a pin 16. The forwardly presented arm of the bell crank lever 15 is bifurcated, the branches 16 thereof being pivotally connected to a yoke 17 which is apertured toaccommodate the upper end of v.a plunger v18; the upper end of .said

plunger being Aprovided with a collar 19` which limits the downward displacement o f saidplunger. Interposed between the .upper end of oke 17 and a collar 20 which.

1s pin-ned to t e plunger 18, is a spring 21 which tends to hold the plunger 18 in' its lowermost position. Said plunger is reciprocably mounted in the bosses 22 and 23 which are carried by a xed bracket or su port A24. Projecting laterally from .t e lowermost boss 23 are arms 25 and 26 which -serve to mount anti-friction rollers` 27 4 and 2S. Pivotally connected to thebranches of the "yoke, 17 are the .preliminary"crimping elements 29 which arebowed outwardly in- .termediately of their ends, but have their lower ends `offset inwardly and provided with crimping aws 30. A rotary table 31 is provided wit a plurality of cap-shaping dies or sockets 32 which are flanked on either side by openings 33 toaccommodate the downward movement of the crimping jaws 30. The lowerend of the plunger`18 is provided with an enlargement 31 .which is adapted to flatly engage the top wall of a cap 35 .which is carried in the socket 32. When the yoke 17 is moved downwardly, the plunger 18 will displace the cap from the loo les

socket 32 on to the neck 36 of a bottle,

which 'has been automatically disposed in` position to receive the same. The crimping elements 29 partake of the downward movement of the plunger 18 and passing through the openings 33 on either slde of the ca holding socket, engage the lobes-37 of lt `e ca 435. Ifthe downward movement of the yo e 17 continues, the movement of, the

plunger 18 is interrupted while the crimping elements 29 continue their downward move.- ment, thus serving. to displace the lobes 37 about the neck 36 of thebottle. the end of this movement, the outwardly bowed portion of the crimping elements 29 Toward las i are .pressed inwardly between rollers 27, 28;v j l in such a wa as to force the crimping jawsv 30 in under t eneck 36 sulciently to 'the cap 35 against displacement the 'subsequent movement` of the bottle to the complete crimping mechanism. The rotary the shaft 8 carries a beveled pinion 39 w iicli meshes with va bevel gear 40 on the upper end of a shaftwhicli vertically reciprocates the compound crimping head 41, said crim ing head being provided with radially disposed crimping eleinents 42.

The band `41 which is reciprocably mounted serves' to support a' socket 221 within which is reciprocably mounted a slide 222, held against rotation by means of a spline 223. The slide 222 is'carried by a rod 224', which passes `through the upper end of socket- 221 and is limited .in its downward movement by an adjustable cap or nut 225. Interposed between the upper end of the socket and the slide 222 is a spring 226. The lower `end of the rod 224 carries a capengaging member 22,7. Radially disposed with respect to said member 22': are a plurality of crimping elements 42 which oscillate -about their rounded lugs 229. The elements42. roject through radial slots in slide 222 an are normally held in outward position by means of springs 230which are 'carriedfby studs'231 on projectingvportions of-'slde 223.` Whenever the socket 221 is forced.v downwardly, 'the member 227 rests upon thecapand forces it into the osition on the neck of a bottle. When the s ide 222 is lbrought tourest, a plurality of plungers 232 which are mounted in iianges 233, arel forced down ontothe elements 228 so as to move them into the `position to crimp the ca and frmlysecure it to the vessel.

` ie operation of my improved machine will 'now be readily understood, and briefly described is as follows: f l

Filled vessels are fed one by one along the plate o'r table 4 under the capping plunger 18,'whichdescends and forces a cap from one of the 'sockets 32 in theJ rotary plate 31', down 'onto the neck ofthe bottle therebeneath. Accompanying this movement, the crimping elements 29 come -into engagement with the lobes 37 and asshown in Fig. 3, impart a preliminary crimping action which secures the cap to the bottle for its movement from the plunger under the action of the bottle conveying clamps 6. As ointed out in my above mentioned patent, t e clamps 6 move inwardly toward each other at one end ofv their'movement, and outwardly therefrom at the other end of their movement l"and by their reciprocationv along the plate or table 4, move t e bottles one by one into position to be engaged by the similar reciprocating one-half the speed into ppers 7 which move them two by two at sition under the double crimping mechanism where said bottles are acted upon two by two to completely crimp the caps into position thereon.

I claim 1. In a machine of the character described, the combination with cap applying and preliminary crimping means, means for feeding vessels to and froml said cap applying and crimping 'means, final cap crimping means, and means operating at a different speed than the first mentioned feeding means for feeding vessels from the first mentioned n feedingfmeans to s aid iinal cap crimping means.

2. In a macliineof the character described, cap applying means which act at4 relatively short intervals, cap crimping means cooperating with sai-d cap applying means to"v apply aA preliminary crimping to the cap, other cap crimping means which act at relatively long intervals on a relatively large` number of vessels, and means for feeding single vessels `to and from the cap applying and reliminary crimping means and means for eeding a plurality of vessels from the preliminary crimping means to the final crimping means.

3. In a bottle capping machine, cap ap; i

plying means, inal cap crimping means, means for feeding vessels from said cap applying means to said. cap crimping means, al rotary table provided with cap holding sockets arranged between saidvessel feed-` ing' means andthe cap applying means and a preliminary crimping device normally ari ranged above said cap holding table and adapted to be operated dohvnwardly past said table to impart a preliminary crimp to` a cap as it is applied to a vessel.

4. In a machine of the character described, the combination with'a fixed guide or support, of cap-holding means, a. cap-applying.

plunger movable past said cap-holding means for displacing a cap therefrom'onto a bottle, and cap-crimping means movable with said plunger and operated by engagement ywith Asaid lixedguide or support for crimping the applied ca 5. In a machine of the c aracter described,v

cap-ap lying means includingrl cap-holding mea-ns. a reciprocating plunger for displacing a cap from said cap-holdingmeans onto the neck of a bottle, cap-crimping means partaking of the movement of said plunger, and stationary means suitablyv disposed to engage said cap-crimping means during its movement, to eilect the crimping action.

6. In a machine of the character described, cap-applying means including cap-holding means,l a reciprocating plunger for displacing a cap from said cap-holding means onto Ythe neck of av bottle, cap-crimping means partaking of the movement of said plunger, and stationary means suitably disposed to engage said cap-crimping means during its movement toeiect the crimping action,

. `:said crimping. means including suitable crimping elements yieldably connected to said cap-appl ing means. n

In a mac 'ine of the character described, a stationary guide or support, cap-holding means, a cap-ap lying plunger reciprocably mounted on sai guide or support for displacing a cap from sai'd cap-holding means onto the neck of a bottle,cr1mping elements yieldably connected to said plunger, and means mounted-on said uide or support for moving said crimping e ements to effect the crim ing action thereof.

8. n a machine ofthe character described, the combination with a movable table provided with cap-holding sockets, of a fixed guide or support mountedabove said table,

a bottlev support arranged below said table,

a member movable toward and away from said guide or support, a cap-applying plunger reciprocable insaid guide or support, said plunger being yieldably connected to said member, cap-clenching arms carried by said member, said arms being normally held out of their clenching position, and means carried by said guide or support and engaging said cap-clenching arms to effect` the clenching action.

9. In a machine of the character described, the combination with a bottle support, of a yoke movable toward and away from a bottle on said support, a reciprocable cap-applying plunger, connected to saidyoke, means for feeding caps into position between said plunger `and the neck of a bottle on said 'support, `flexible A'crimping arms connected to said yoke,and means stationed between said yoke and table and inthe paths of said` llng lugs coaxial with a bottle in position to be cappedon said bottle support, a plunger reciprocably mounted in said bearing lugs and connected to said yoke, intermediatelyv of the branches thereof, flexiblel crimping arms connected respectively to the branches of said yoke, and means carried by said fixed guide or support for engaging said crimping arms to effect the crimping action. u

11. In a machine of the character described, the combination with a bottle support, of means for conveying a cap into posi# said support, a yoke Y having its branches presented toward said bottle support, means for moving said yoke toward and away from said bottle support, a fixed guide or support arranged between the bottle support and said yoke and having spaced bearing lugs coaxialtion to be applied to the neck of a bottle on respectively'to the branches of .said yoke,

v and means carried by said fixed guide or support for engaging s aid crimping arms to leil'ect -the crimping action, said crimping Aarms being provided with portions offset inwardly toward each other and intermediately of rollers carried by said fixed guide orsupport and constituting the crimping` arms engaging means.

12. In a-machine of thev character de scribed, a table provided with cap-holding sockets and openin therethrough corresponding to the positions of finger lobes on caps held in said sockets, means for presenting a bottle into position to have a cap transferred from one of said sockets to the neck of said `bottle, a plunger for applying the cap to the neck of said bottle, flexible crimping arms movable with said capping plunger, saidcrimping arms being sultably arranged to pass through the 'openings in said table for pressing the lobes of said ca downwardly, and means for displacing said flexible arms inwardly the neck of said bottle.

13. In a-machine vof the character described, means for simultaneously applying and preliminarily crimping'a cap, means for final ing vessels to said cap applying and reliminarily'crimping means and from t ere to the'final crimping means.

14. In a machine o the character described, means for holding a cap, a cap-applying plunger for displacing a cap therefrom onto a bottle, cap crimping elements concentrically arranged with vrespect to 4to crimp the capon' said plunger, means for reciprocating said plunger and cap crimping elements together, said means permitting said plunger to yield relatively to said crimping elements, and means for inwardly deflecting said crimping elements by, means of their reciprocatory movements.

ELoF NORDSTROM.

y crimping a cap, and, means for feed- 

